PRESS RELEASE

Released @ 15.00 hours GMT 2nd July 1997

Palestinian killed by Israeli soldier during protests against continuing land seizures by Israeli settlers in Gaza Strip

This afternoon, the 2nd July, Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition at unarmed Palestinian civilians near Deir el Balah City, who were protesting the attempted seizure of their land by Israeli settlers. Maher Abdul Minaeim El Assar was shot dead by a live bullet to his heart. This constitutes a violation of the 1949 IV Geneva Convention, and marks a dangerous escalation in the situation, as violence continues in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

At around 09.00 hours local time today, Wednesday 2nd July, a bulldozer driven by an Israeli settler, accompanied by a group of armed settlers, began to flatten a piece of Palestinian land near Netzer Hazani Settlement, (located near Deir El Balah City), under the gaze of Israeli soldiers positioned at a near-by military installation.

Around 11.00 hours approximately 150 Palestinians arrived at the site and established a sit-in to protest the attempted land seizure. Israeli military re-enforcements arrived immediately and employed excessive force including tear-gas and rubber and plastic bullets in an attempt to remove the so-far peaceful sit-in, and causing injury to over 10 Palestinians. Palestinians responded by throwing stones.

Some time later Israeli soldiers employed live ammunition and at around 13.30 hours El Assar (18 years old, a high school student and resident of Deir el Balah) was shot and killed by a live bullet. He was received dead at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights Fieldwork Team reported that a Palestinian-Israeli meeting has been convened following the shooting, where-in the Israeli and Palestinian sides agreed to negotiate the situation in the forum of the Joint Regional Civil Affairs Committee (in accordance with the mechanisms for joint co-ordination and cooperation provided by the Taba Agreement).

It should be noted that around three months ago settlers attempted to confiscate the same 70 dunams (equivalent to around 900 metres sq) of land by surrounding it with barbed wire. On 15th June the settlers began once again to attempt to take the same piece of land and protests and disputes took place between local Palestinians and the settlers. On this occasion a settler fired a pistol at Mohammed Ismail El Salaqawi, wounding him in the foot. The next day, 16th June, the two parties, in the forum of the Joint District Co-ordination Office, agreed that the settlers would cease their attempts to take this piece of land and that the Palestinian protesters would leave the site and negotiations would continue.

The Palestinian Centre expresses its deep concern at the resort to physical measures and to excessive violence by the Israeli settlers and the Israeli occupation forces. These measures are provocative and have brought about an escalation in the situation, for which the Centre holds the Israeli Government solely responsible.

The Palestinian Centre calls upon the international community and the co-sponsors of the Oslo Process to pressure the Israeli Government to:

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  i. prevent further provocations and to restrain from the employment of lethal and excessive force against unarmed Palestinian civilians in accordance with the 1949 IV Geneva Convention, (to which Israel is a Party);

  ii. prevent further unilateral attempts to change the facts on the ground in anticipation of the final status agreement, and in violation of the agreements already signed between the Israeli Government and the PLO; and

  iii. to act in accordance with the norms of international law.